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Big Bang! Rules and Tools

The annual Big Bang! Business Competition provides a forum for innovators to collaborate, develop and test business ideas—and compete for cash prizes.

The 24th annual Big Bang! launches in October and concludes with finalist presentations and an awards ceremony in May.

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Grow your venture | Register for the Big Bang!

StartupTree is our competition platform where you will register your team and submit all deliverables. Please note that we cannot accept emailed submissions.

The UC Davis StartupTree community is your hub to expand your network—and learn about events, competitions, resources and programs on campus and beyond.

The Big Bang! Workshop Series will give you the knowledge and skills you need to move from concept to company—and to effectively compete in the Big Bang! Business Competition.

 Big Bang! Workshop Series

Find Your Teammates

Learn more about the Big Bang!

For competition details and specifics, please download:

Overview, Eligibility + Requirements

I was fortunate enough to connect with several mentors who are working in my field, and they have been incredibly generous with their time and knowledge, always guiding me in the right direction."
Ismael Mayanja | UC Davis Biological Systems Engineering Ph.D. Candidate | Co-founder, Badaye Technologies Ltd.

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Badaye Technologies Ltd. (BTL) took home the $10,000 Food + Agriculture Sector Award and the $10,000 Energy + Sustainability Sector Award in the 2023 Big Bang! The startup was founded by UC Davis biological systems engineering Ph.D. student Ismael Mayanja and Issac Oluk, a doctoral student in environmental engineering at the University of Kentucky. Its flagship product, the SUNSULA, is an affordable, customizable device that uses rotary sieves to efficiently and effectively clean post-harvest maize.
  • Competition Deliverables: Templates + Examples
  • Download the templates and examples below as needed.

    Round 0 (optional)
    Registration and Team Member Biographies Guidelines
    • Executive Summary Guidelines
    Executive Summary Example

    Round 1
    Registration and Team Member Biographies Guidelines
    • Executive Summary Guidelines
    Executive Summary Example

    Round 2
    • 2-Minute Video Pitch Guidelines
    • Customer Call Guidelines
    • Customer Call Sample Script
    • Customer Call Summary Template [DOC]
     Pitch Deck Template [PPT]

    Round 3
    Customer Call Summary Template [DOC]
    Pitch Deck Template [PDF]
  • Judging Criteria
  • Your entry to the UC Davis Big Bang! Business Competition will be judged on the following criteria:

    Problem/ Solution/ Value Proposition | 20%
    • Well-defined problem
    • Well-articulated solution
    • Clear Value Proposition

    Customer and Market | 20%
    • Clearly defined customer
    • Well-understood marketplace 
    • Well-structured go-to-market approach

    Business Model and Plan | 20%
    • Well-defined revenue model
    • Clear financial assumptions (revenue, costs, timeline) 
    • Clear understanding of revenue requirements and usage

    Team and Advisors | 20%
    • Relevant domain and functional expertise
    • Clear roles and responsibilities 
    • Well-positioned and relevant advisors

    Presentation and Pitch | 20%
    • Well-crafted and structured presentation
    • Well-presented pitch 
    • Clear call to action

  • Round 0: Optional Early Registration Deadline
  • The optional Round 0 requires submission of a two-page executive summary and a maximum one-page team member biography (for each team member) via Startup Tree by February 5, 2024, noon. Refer to templates and guidelines provided.

    You will receive feedback from UC Davis MBA students on your executive summary that you can incorporate into your final executive summary, which is due by the Round 1 deadline of February 26, 2024, at noon. 

  • Round 1: Executive Summary / Team Member Biographies
  • Round 1 requires submission of a two-page executive summary and a maximum one-page team member biography (for each team member) submitted via Startup Tree by the deadline listed below. Refer to templates and guidelines provided.

    Round 1 Deadline—February 26, 2024, by noon: Teams that submitted Round 1 deliverables by the optional early deadline should update and resubmit their materials, incorporating reviewer feedback. Submissions received after the deadline will not be accepted. This is a required submission to advance to the next round.

    • Top teams advance to Round 2.
  • Round 2:  Semifinals
  • The top teams advanced to Round 2 must submit the following deliverables via Startup Tree no later than April 8, 2024, by noon. Refer to templates and guidelines provided.
       • Two-Minute video pitch 
       • Detailed pitch deck (5–10 slides + 5 optional appendix slides)
       • Summary report of 20 customer call interviews (maximum five pages)

    • Submissions received after the deadline will not be accepted. This is a required submission to advance to the next round.

    • Top teams advance to Round 3.

    Round 3 teams have the valuable opportunity to receive presentation feedback from mentors in a "dry run" practice session rotation on April 29, 4-8 p.m. The optional Dry Run Sessions will take place over Zoom.

  • Round 3: Finals
  • The top teams advanced to Round 3 must submit the following deliverables no later than May 6, 2024, by noon. Refer to templates and guidelines provided.
      • Presentation pitch deck (10 slides + 5 optional appendix slides)
      • Additional 10 customer call summary (maximum three-page summary)

    Finalist teams present to a live panel of external judges on May 15, 2024. We will announce award winners at the Big Bang! Awards Ceremony on May 21, 2024.

    All finalist teams must attend the final judging and awards ceremony in person at UC Davis. 

Questions? 

Jullianne Ballou

Contact Program Manager Jullianne Ballou